The Nursery
by Chrys-DASL
Summary: Jenna and her husband have waited a long time for a child. They turn to adoption, bleeding their savings dry in hopes of becoming parents. They are hopeful, especially when their agent finds a birth mother who not only wants them to have her child, but knows Jenna and wants to be a part of the child's life. Will Jenna and her husband finally get the family they always wanted?


The Nursery

They'd waited for what felt like an eternity. On television, the adoption process looked like a fast-moving process where everyone won in the end. So far, they had drained their accounts and gotten rid of so many investments just to afford the process, but they hadn't had luck yet in getting a child. Every time they seemed close, something would get in the way.

Jenna knew that something had to give. She was thirty-five, and her husband was thirty-six. They were well-educated, had plenty of space, and had done every single thing the agency wanted, including parenting classes neither of them felt they needed. The only thing missing at this point was a child, a reward for their efforts—a family. They were so desperate for this reward that they did anything to make it happen, and they kept up their efforts despite the failure.

After work, Jenna found herself at home in her kitchen making dinner. Her husband, Patrick, often had longer hours than her, so this was expected. She cooked things like normal, then she took a seat at the island and started skimming through her phone just to have something to do. News was slow, and her social media sites were stale, so she ended up flipping through her email in an attempt to clear it out.

When she saw the message, she couldn't understand how she'd missed it. 1:52 p.m., from their adoption agent, with an urgent ! attached, was a request to see both of them at the office. Jenna opened it and saw the conversation between Patrick and the agent. They had met up without her when she didn't respond by two-thirty. There was nothing at the end updating her on how it went. The message just trailed off when they realized Jenna wasn't able to come.

Jenna called her husband, something she rarely did. He very well could be at work, but she had to know what this urgent meeting was about. She listened to the phone ring one, two, then three times, and finally he answered:

"Hey, sweetie. I'm on my way home with some good news!" Patrick smiled. "Oh what the heck, I'll just tell you now. In three days, a birth mother is going to be induced. She wants to give up her baby to us! We're the finalists out of several couples because we're so close by."

"She must want to be included in the baby's life. That sounds perfect!" Jenna smiled. They had lost babies before thanks to reluctant birth mothers, but if this one wanted to be a part of the child's life, maybe they would be less likely to take them back and break their hearts again.

Patrick nodded, "That's what Tabitha at the agency was saying. Usually these open deals end better than closed adoptions, but we'll just have to see like before. She's met the mother and thinks it's the best possible outcome for everyone. And she said you would know the mother."

"I would? Did she say who it was?" Jenna asked with a raised eyebrow. How in the world could she know this mother? She didn't know anyone who was pregnant aside from some happily married couples, and they were definitely going to keep their babies.

"I have a picture of her, but no, Tabitha didn't give me her name," Patrick said, indicating he was turning onto their street and would be home in a second.

Jenna prepared their drinks and served their food. After greeting him at the door, they sat down to dinner, but the food was ignored. Jenna demanded to see the picture, and Patrick provided it to her.

Jenna's jaw dropped, "I do know her. We went to elementary school together, but she left before sixth grade with her parents. Her father was some government guy, an ambassador or something. I don't really remember the details because I was so young, but I'd know that hair anywhere. Her name is Sue Ellen, and I want to say her last name is Armstrong."

"Wow," Patrick whispered, shaking his head, "What do you think her angle is?"

"I don't know. We kept hoping she'd come back, but soon she just faded from memory. I see pictures of her every now and then on those school groups on Facebook, but she's never tagged because we could never find an account. All I remember is from elementary school, which isn't much. She was new in third grade, coming in after the first of the year, and she may've left before fifth grade was over. It's just been too long for me to know," Jenna sighed, handing back the photo, "I hope she's okay. If she's my age and giving up a baby, something must've happened to her."

The couple held hands, then hunger got to them and they ate their dinner. At first they were quiet and subdued, but soon excitement took hold. If Jenna knew the birth mother and it was going to be an open adoption, there seemed to be no way for this to go wrong.

The next morning, Jenna went into the nursery to freshen up the room. There wasn't a week that went by that she didn't go into the room and look around at the toys, linens, and clothes they had picked up for their possible child. A toy train was shelved over a crib, and a poster of a fairy was hanging over a child-sized bed just in case they were older. The room was perfect for a growing child of any age, but Jenna had to check again.

After playing with some of the blocks for a moment, she went downstairs to finish getting ready for work. Patrick made them breakfast sandwiches, then he put on their coffee. As he gathered their travel mugs, Jenna pulled on her blazer and checked her email.

"Patrick, it's Tabitha!" Jenna exclaimed, showing him the phone screen. "Sue Ellen went into labor. We have to get to the hospital!"

"I can't take off right now. There's an important meeting I have to lead. You go ahead and call me around lunch, maybe 11-ish, and I'll see if I need to show up," Patrick said. He seemed defeated, but knowing that Jenna would be there was enough for him.

Jenna changed into some comfortable clothes and grabbed their go-bag. Expectant parents had one typically, and Jenna and Patrick were no different. Jenna made sure the snacks inside were still good, since their go-bag also contained sustenance and activities to get them through the wait, then she went out to her car and headed off, barely remembering to grab her breakfast sandwich and coffee.

At Elwood City General Hospital, Jenna took the familiar route to Labor and Delivery. After speaking with the nurse over the floor, Jenna was led by an orderly to a small waiting room, where Tabitha was waiting with a smile:

"You were able to show up this time. Where's Patrick?" she asked.

"He had to go into work, but I'll call him later to let him know if he needs in or not. So?"

"She was admitted early this morning around six. She drove herself in, poor thing, and they confirmed she's in labor. She's three centimeters, but it could take a while. They wanted us here because she's thinking of letting us in," Tabitha nodded, checking her phone, "but we'll see. Did Patrick show you the picture?"

"Yes, I saw it. I know her, but it was a long time ago," Jenna whispered.

"It often is, but something sparked. I think she's very interested in including you, and hopefully letting you raise her child. She didn't want to know the gender, so it'll be a nice surprise at the end," Tabitha grinned, looking up as a nurse entered. Tabitha was asked to stay behind, but Jenna was allowed into the room.

After washing her hands, Jenna stepped into the room. It was smaller than she expected, but then she realized it was a recovery room they were using to keep her comfortable until the real thing. There was an arm chair next to the bed, and Sue Ellen waved Jenna to it as soon as she got into the room.

"I'm glad it's really you. You changed your name when you got married," Sue Ellen smiled.

Jenna nodded, "I was a little tired of being a Morgan. I had one of those bosses at the times that liked calling people by their last names, except me. He called me Smith because it was so generic. Then he got to call me McCormick, which he hated. Luckily the feeling was mutual and I got out of there," Jenna smirked. "How have you been?"

"It's a long story," Sue Ellen sighed, wincing through another contraction. A minute later she smiled and shook her head, "This isn't my first time, but it never hurts any less. I trust you enough to tell you, but I'd rather your husband not know. Maybe later, but not now. I need to get to know him. I hope you understand."

"It's fine," Jenna assured her.

"Well, this isn't my first for many reasons. In fact, this baby will be my third. The first was when I moved away, two years later," Sue Ellen whispered. "My parents had no idea the man they hired to teach me Italian was taking advantage of me. When they realized I was pregnant and didn't speak a word of the language, they figured things out. The guy was, thankfully, put in jail, but the charges didn't really stick. They tried several times, namely because there were others, so he's been inconvenienced maybe three years total, but never punished.

"My second child? I was older and wiser. I was twenty and studying anthropology at a university in New York. I loved the man, but mid-way through, it was clear the feeling wasn't mutual. I knew things would be miserable, and they were. Before I could even have him, rumors spread and people accused me of so many things. I put him up for adoption and fled out west to finish my degree," Sue Ellen sighed, wiping away a few tears. "He's married with four kids now to this bimbo of a woman, not a care in the world for either of them. Monsters.

"This baby? I thought it would be different, but the first two combined with my circumstances...I don't love this child. I don't love the man I had them with, and I don't think I can ever love them. Worst yet, I've asked and asked, but they won't make a permanent fix. What if this happens again?" Sue Ellen cried in a hushed whisper, "That's how this baby happened. Am I supposed to never have sex, never get raped? This country is so backwards. I wish I was somewhere else, and I plan to be. I'm applying for jobs all over Europe hoping something will stick. Maybe I'll have better chances there."

"I'm so sorry all of this has happened to you," Jenna gasped, shaking her head. "Everyone always wondered what happened to you, but none of us knew. And I swear I'll never tell them. You're a legend here. I would never want to ruin the stories about you."

"Tell me, all of them," Sue Ellen added with a sharp intake of breath as another contraction rocked her.

Over the hours they waited, Jenna told her each rumor, from running off to lead a communist rebellion in the African jungle to a feminist crusade in India. Sue Ellen's favorite was the story where she was now president of a free country somewhere, but no one could agree which continent, let alone which country.

Around one, the doctors decided to move her into a delivery room, and Jenna let Patrick know. Sue Ellen asked Jenna to join her, but soon Patrick was in the waiting room with Tabitha and several anxious fathers-to-be.

It took an hour, with Sue Ellen pushing almost the entire time. Finally the baby was out, and Jenna watched with tears in her eyes as they carried it over to a special table.

As they worked, Sue Ellen went pale. She shook her head, "That's not right."

Jenna quickly realized what she meant. The baby wasn't crying, and it looked like they were attempting CPR. The women watched as they tried, eventually bringing in the crash cart in an attempt to revive the child. After a few minutes, they tried to wheel the child away, but Sue Ellen threatened to follow them, confirming this was a promise by trying to get up.

"I'll go with them, please," Jenna begged. The nurses couldn't let her go either, but the baby couldn't stay. Jenna and Sue Ellen sobbed together as they wheeled the child into another room.

After a few minutes, Sue Ellen was finished and taken back to her room. Jenna checked a clock and realized it was going on thirty minutes since the delivery and lack of cries. Her eyes teared up again as she peered into the hall. A small cart was coming with two nurses with it. Jenna went back into the room and watched as the cart arrived.

The baby wasn't alive. Sue Ellen sobbed as she held him, taking him into her arms and holding his lifeless body. A few minutes later, she handed him to Jenna, who sobbed uncontrollably as she held him. So much hope for a small wonder gone for reasons they still didn't know.

Eventually Sue Ellen asked it to be over. The baby was wheeled away, and Jenna was asked to leave. She went into the waiting room, where Patrick remained. Tabitha was gone, and Jenna knew she probably was aware. It made her angry, but she she kept herself composed as she told Patrick the news. He hung his head, defeated, but he didn't crumble the way Jenna did. Soon she was sobbing again in her husband's arms.

Tabitha called Jenna a few days later. The baby was hung by his umbilical cord before the doctor noticed. It was a simple mistake, and honestly the baby's passing was a blessing since many children with such injuries had debilitating handicaps.

Jenna understood, but it made the situation no less painful. She found herself trying to find Sue Ellen online to no avail, but there was nothing. Tabitha knew nothing of her either, and as far as she was concerned, they were back at square one.

They couldn't handle it anymore. They told her they were done looking for now, and Tabitha updated their file and stopped contact.

For two more years, Jenna and Patrick mourned their loss. Seasons passed, and soon they realized neither of them had gone into the nursery for quite some time. Finally together, they stepped inside.

Dust coated every surface. Jenna cried as she wiped a finger across the window sill, then she hugged Patrick before going off to get dust rags. Together they cleaned, taking the sheets off together and putting them in to wash.

After putting the room back together, they heard the doorbell ring. Together they answered, but when they looked out, no one was there.

Or so they thought. Suddenly Tabitha and Sue Ellen appeared from an SUV. Tabitha helped Sue Ellen walk because she was carrying something. Their hearts soared as they heard a loud infant cry come from the bundle.

It was cool out, so they let the two women and the baby inside. Sue Ellen introduced her as Caroline Lynn, then she let Tabitha take over the conversation.

"We don't normally do this, but after what happened...Sue Ellen didn't want to tell you until she knew for sure. She's got the paperwork here and I've got mine," Tabitha said, pulling out a pen and a thick folder, "but only if you're sure."

"We'd be honored," Patrick cried.

Paperwork was soon signed, then they each held the baby. Sue Ellen was invited in as often as she wanted, an offer she would not take. Within the week, she was on a plane to France, where she'd gotten a job with an academy for budding artists.

Caroline would remain in America with her loving adoptive parents, who would raise her as her own, and all secrets would remain buried. Jenna never told Patrick Sue Ellen's story, and Sue Ellen never told them the truth behind each of her children. Her tutor was behind each one, finding her at every turn. She stayed in his sight for a while, but after becoming pregnant with the baby that would become her fourth child, she knew how to escape.

Sue Ellen was successful, as were Jenna and Patrick. The circumstances weren't ideal, but there were lives to salvage, and so they would.

~End

Theme 227: Kids' Room (Theme from my updated Infinite Theme List. See my deviantArt profile for the full list)

[one-shot 9/100 for 2017]

Well that got as dark as I thought it would. I wrapped things up a little fast, again, but I hope you guys liked this despite the drama.


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